43 signatures down, only 99,957 more to go — Archinect senior contributor John Jourden brought to our attention a new online petition at whitehouse.gov, which urges the administration to award the design of new Federal building projects utilizing open architectural competitions.

The initiative has now until March 26 to reach its goal of 100,000 signatures to be considered for an earnest review.

Here's the petition text in full:

"The United States offers the best architectural education available in the world but has not engaged its young designer base in creating the vision for the future of America's built environment. American architecture programs as a leader in design education, technological innovation, and sustainability attracts students from all over the world yet the United States does not invite any input from its young designer base as is commonly done in many European countries. Young American designers truly represent an untapped resource for a new vision of the United States that addresses the need for efficiency in a struggling economy, sustainability in an era of unprecedented climate change, and access to the next generation of Americans in the new paradigm of information and social connectedness."